Mining firm workers unpaid for 15 months after HC ban, forced into daily-wage work

Bageshwar: Employees of Almora Magnesite Ltd, located along the Almora–Bageshwar border, said they have gone without salaries for the past 15 months after the company's operations were suspended following a Uttarakhand HC order last year imposing a blanket ban on mining in Bageshwar district. The order has pushed over 500 employees into acute financial distress, forcing many of them to take up daily-wage labour or migrate temporarily to cities to support their households.Pradeep Rautela, an operator at the unit, said he worked in Delhi for six months to make ends meet before being asked by the management to rejoin duty. "I am trained as an operator, but here I am doing manual labour without pay. Running a household without a salary has become impossible," he said.Another employee, Girish Chandra, who has been with the company for 15 years, said the factory remains shut and salaries have stopped, yet workers are still required to report every day despite there being no work. "The plant is closed, but attendance is mandatory," he said.Senior worker Gayatri Prasad said the mine spans nearly seven kilometres and involves the extraction of magnesium from hard rock. "Although this operation is different from soapstone mining, it was also halted under the HC order. Machinery worth crores is lying idle, and even if the ban is lifted, restarting operations will be extremely difficult," he said.Employees alleged that assurances given during protests were not honoured. Senior employee Shanti Lal said workers were promised that pending salaries would be cleared by selling existing stock. "Months have passed, but nothing has materialised. Uttarakhand govt, through SIDCUL, holds over 40% stake in the company, yet there has been no concrete intervention. Both the workers and the company need a relief package," he said.Lalit Mohan Kandpal, general manager, said the firm had stock worth nearly Rs 4 crore that could have been used to pay salaries and meet operational expenses. "The stock remained unsold for over a year and has deteriorated. Its market value has dropped sharply, and we are now unable to sell it," he said.Local BJP MLA Parvati Das described the company as the only major industrial unit in the hill region. "It provided direct employment to more than 500 people and supported thousands of families. This company will not be allowed to shut down. I will raise the issue with the chief minister and seek a relief package," she said.Once considered a cornerstone of Uttarakhand's industrial growth, the company earlier produced nearly 2,000 tonnes of DB magnesite every month, supplying major industrial centres such as Bhilai and Jamshedpur. It also supplied construction material worth around Rs 50 lakh—including sand, gravel, tiles and bricks—to local markets.